Renault wants a driver “capable of leading the team”

The two buckets of the Renault Sport F1 Team have still not officially found their drivers for the 2017 season. After buying Lotus F1 Team at the end of 2015, Renault had started Kevin Magnussen alongside Jolyon Palmer for the 2016 championship, after the departures of Romain Grosjean, toward Haas F1 Team, and Pastor Maldonado, which we could soon find on the WEC side.

A year of transition in the Losange clan, 2016 remains a difficult campaign for the British-Danish pair, with only Magnussen having scored points during the Russian event in Sochi. The two drivers are still hoping for a place next year with their current employer, but according to Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal of the training at Losange, nothing has been decided yet, he who is aiming for a decision at the beginning of September.

The manager of the French team, while recognizing the progress of his current drivers, also recalls that the future Renault driver(s) must act as a driving force for the development of the team. “If you look at the success stories of the past, everything was always built around a driver: Schumacher et Ferrari, Hag et Red Bull, Lewis and Mercedes and Alonso and Renault in the past, emphasizes Vasseur on the F1 website. The driver is important.

A driver is not only about performance, but it is also be able to lead a team ... We need a driver who is super-motivated and able to over-motivate everyone. » Several names have regularly returned for 2017 at Renault, notably that of Sergio Pérez, now a Force India driver.

Unless the Diamond trusts Esteban Ocon, just started for the end of the championship with Manor from the Belgian Grand Prix. The Frenchman had taken part in several free practice sessions with Renault since the start of the year.